Teen Girl Killed, Three Others Injured in Oregon DUI Crash — Driver Accused of Giving Alcohol to Minors

The mother of a 16-year-old girl killed in a crash near Stayton on Sunday night is demanding justice in the case of 33-year-old Christopher Atkinson of Salem, who is accused of DUI, manslaughter, and giving alcohol to minors.

“I do not think he should ever get out,” Kristina McDaniel cried on the phone during Atkinson’s pre-trial bond hearing.

Marion County Judge Drew Taylor determined that Atkinson would be a threat to society and ordered him jailed without bail.

Zolayha Johnson, McDaniel’s 16-year-old daughter, was slain, while Zamora Miller, 12, was injured and is in the hospital. Two more teenagers, aged 14 and 16, were also injured.

“I have a daughter in Doernbecher (Children’s Hospital) right now with tubes in her, with broken ribs and a punctured lung,” McDaniel was quoted as saying. “He took my daughter away from me.”

Around 9:50 p.m., a single car crashed in the 17000 block of Fern Ridge Road. Atkinson’s automobile went off the road and slammed with several trees before coming to a halt.

The father and mother of one of the other teens testified in court, claiming the daughter is frightened Atkinson will target her.

“She was terrified scared to sleep alone because she thought that because she was the one that called 911 the man would be coming after her,” the woman’s mother testified.

McDaniel lives in California and stated that she was preparing to bring her girls home after focussing on getting her life together. During an interview with KATU before the hearing, she stated that she had just spoken with the girls on Sunday afternoon regarding their move to California. The girls had been staying with their grandma in Salem.

McDaniel stated that Johnson informed her and her grandmother that she and her younger sister were having supper with a friend and would return home by 9 p.m. She stated she last spoke with her around 6 p.m. Sunday.

“She was a beautiful comedian and a typical teenager,” she added of Johnson. “She’s always laughing, joking, and brilliant. Now all we have are memories of it, and it hurts so much because that precious innocent soul was snatched too soon.”

Johnson was a junior at McNary High School in Keizer. In a statement to students and families, Principal Scott Gragg stated that Johnson had a significant impact on many lives.

“Every loss of a student’s life impacts us all and she will be greatly missed,” according to him.

Atkinson is charged with one second-degree manslaughter, one third-degree assault, two second-degree assaults, reckless driving, and four counts of giving alcohol to a juvenile. He is set to appear in court again on April 2.

It is uncertain how the females got into Atkinson’s automobile. McDaniel feels they didn’t know him before Sunday night.

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